The Man You Think You Know
by SimpleSoliloquy
Summary: <html><head></head>The world is in the midst of World War I, and the Leviathan is no exception. But Alek and Deryn have problems of their own to deal with. Deryn's secret is threatening to be exposed, and Alek may have acquired a strange new enemy, a new face among them...</html>
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own the Leviathan, or any of the characters pertaining to it. I just like to torture them.

A pair of star-crossed lovers.

-William Shakespeare-

**Part One: Star-Crossed**

Alek could feel the violent shudders underneath his feet as the flares pelted the side of the Leviathan. He struggled with the unwieldy controls on the engine, fighting to keep balance with Klopp. Normally he wasn't allowed out of his chambers, but those stupid engineers for the ship still hadn't master the techniques enough to control the air beast during an attack. So Alek was left in charge of the left side of the Leviathan.

Sparks flew in every direction, shocking his arms even through his protection. Oil stained his finger tips. Screams filtered to his ears from the spine, sending tingles down his spine. But his top concern _had_ to be the engines; without them, the Leviathan would be stranded in mid-air.

A sudden explosion ripped through the rattling of the gears and pistons. That had better be one of the German spotters going down. If it wasn't…he wasn't going to think about that.

With a screech, the remaining spotters skittered away. The throttle turned blue. Alek heaved a great sigh of relief as he eased on the saunter. It was over. No more deaths to hear with perfect clarity, no more cries of wounded soldiers…sometimes he wondered if he would ever be used to this ugly war.

He and Baurer commented calmly on the multiple problems with the saunters that needed to be addressed to make the Leviathan engineer's lives easier. So there was that balance problem, the timing problem, the gears and pistons might crack in the cold, of course those idiots might break the saunters by pushing the pedal at the wrong time, oh, and on that matter, the pedals needed adjusting on the height…

Alek was interrupted by the shrill whistle declaring that all hand to the spine. He supposed he was included in the hands. Quickly he stumbled out into the great air beast. He scrambled up the iron stairs and started the climb up to the spine. A small ruckus converted his attention. Bovril was somehow loose in the ship and of course he was 'becoming more precipitous', as Dr. Barlow always said. Plus he was annoying the heck out of the crew. So he scooped the furry creature up and stepped onto the spine.

It was a wreck. Bodies lay everywhere, some moaning, and some lay deathly still. Alek wanted to close his eyes. The sickly and eerie sounds of agony sent his stomach down to his feet. _Just keep walking_, he told himself. But he couldn't tear his eyes from the bodies. All of them had families, people who loved them, maybe children, and now they were gone forever. The families will probably get an abrupt and brief explanation of what happened, from a complete stranger.

One soldier, he noticed was wearing a sloppily made bead bracelet, maybe from a child. One was wearing a locket which could have pictures of loved ones in it. Another body was sporting a strangely tailored uniform, just like the one Dylan always wore…

Suddenly Alek was running. Running towards that body that couldn't be his best friend. _No, no, no_, was all he thought. It must be another person. Not the invulnerable Dylan.

He knelt down next to the crumpled figure. Spotting a whistle, he clumsily blew the familiar notes he had heard come the various crew and, occasionally, Bovril. It would take some time for a doctor to find them, Alek reckoned, and Dylan might need fast attention.

Alek pushed his panic back. He had to. For Dylan. _Ok_, he thought. _What is the most pressing problem?_ Well that was easy. Any wounds. A quick check over the showing skin revealed nothing, and most of the…blood…was coming from under the shirt. He steeled himself for any gore, and peeling back the shirt. But there was already a bandage around his chest. Alek frowned. He didn't think that Dylan had any earlier injuries to speak of. Studying the wrappings more closely, he noticed that there was a strange curve to them, an almost feminine touch. And now he realized that the rest of the body was oddly curvy too. Not like a boy's at all. More like a…oh no.

Bovril scampered up to Alek's shoulder. "_Mr_. Sharp," he said with a giggling sound.

Alek sat despondently in the bare seat next to Dylan's bed, or whatever his-or _her_- name was. He had been the only person to stay with his best friend all through the night in the sick bay. Dr. Barlow and Volger had occasionally popped in, but never for very long, and Newkirk had work to do. For the umpteenth time, Alek scanned his friend's body, the revealing curves, the small bullet wound in the stomach from the German attack, hoping that he had imagined the..._curves _that didn't belong on Dylan's body. But they were still there.

Why hadn't Dylan told him? Hadn't Alek told him all of his secrets? Surely there were chances to. So why hadn't he? Maybe Dylan didn't trust him.

Suddenly Dylan's eyes fluttered. "Barking spiders! Its cold!" he or she shrieked, voice an octave higher than usual. Unfocused eyes hazily took in Alek, sitting stunned by the bed. "G'mornin'" came the slurred greeting. "Whatcha staring' at?"

Sighing, Alek said, "You." Finally noticing the open shirt, Dylan gasped. Scrambling franticly for something to cover up, _she_ finally selected the thin sheets on the next bed over, and clutched them to her chest.

"It's too late," he said in a resigned tone. "Everyone has seen."

Her eyes widened. "Everyone?" she looked down at her cursed chest. The unwanted proof.

"Why didn't you tell me, Dylan?" Alek said with barely suppressed tension.

"My name is Deryn, actually. And I tried, I really did, but the stupid Germans always barged in, or you said the wrong thing, and then Lilit-"

Alek cut her off. "Don't bring Lilit into this," he said abruptly.

"Right, so, don't be mad at me! Please!" she was getting stressed now, that much was clear from her raising tones.

"Shhhhh! They might here." Alek warned under his breath. "And…I'm not mad."

"Thank you."

An awkward silence followed.

"Sooo..." she was cut off by Alek's quiet statement.

"I think you're brave."

Deryn just stared at him. Did he really just say that? Really? "What are you talking about Alek? Make sense for me here."

"I think you're brave for trying. I always wished I could be a real boy like you. You know, swearing and spitting and swaggering. I never got to do any of that stuff, and here you come, a girl, and you do it perfectly. So, I'm different. And you fit in. You're brave like that."

The girl was speechless.

"Well, um, I gotta, well, go," Alek mumbled. And he was out the door before the last word was finished.

Beware the snow,

Beware the rain,

Beware the man you think you know

-Catherine Fisher from Incarceron-

**Part**** Two: Beware, Beware**

The loud hustle of New York City resonated throughout the Leviathan, making all the crew jumpy. Everyone except Deryn. She was in her element. She had always loved cities like New York; all the different lives clumped together, each separate and each together at the same time. The energy was exciting.

But there was one –major- damper to her mood. She was stuck in a cabin. The captain knew, the crew knew, Newkirk knew, Dr. Barlow knew, and of course, Alek knew. Her secret was out. She was a stupid girl. No one would ever look at her in the same way, the same _respectful_ way, again. No more.

Alek had been busy in the engine room since that night. Sometimes she thought he was avoiding her on purpose. And the more she thought, the more it seemed to be true. In one night, their friendship had died. But maybe, just maybe, something else was born. Alek thought she was brave. Her! Deryn felt herself quickly transforming into a romantic again. She was in danger of squealing. It was hard not too. In fact, it felt delicious.

_Sna__p out of it! _She scolded herself. She wasn't a little lassie twirling her skirts at a dance. Or maybe she was…

A loud knocking startled her out of her thoughts. Opening the door, she found Newkirk standing apologetically in front of her.

"Um, the captain says that, since we're getting new passengers, you can, uh, come out of your quarters, I guess…" he stammered lamely.

"We're getting new passengers?" she inquired. Weren't they already heavy enough from the Clanker engines? What was the captain thinking getting more weight from passengers that couldn't contribute?

"Oh, well, yes," he seemed to having trouble talking to her. "They made a rather, um, _important_ request, and people are saying that they paid quite heavily, I guess."

"Well isn't that the problem?" she pressed. "Won't we be too heavy?"

"Captain's shoving out most of Dr. Barlow's equipment, it seems; because she doesn't really need it anymore since those eggs of hers hatched." Newkirk said.

"Well I guess the boffin won't like that much."

Sensing the approaching awkwardness, Deryn rapidly changed the subject. "So I can come out?"

"Well, yes," he said. "You know, as long as you don't cause trouble"

Deryn's eyes narrowed. "Me, cause trouble?" she said through her teeth. "I think you're forgetting who gets your stupid butt _out_ of trouble every time." And with that she slammed the door in his face.

She was halfway into her pants before she remembered that she wasn't allowed to wear her uniform anymore. But she couldn't seem to tear herself out of the familiar cloth.

Tentatively she walked down the platforms until she got to the loading dock at the bottom of the ship. It looked like the entire crew was there. Even the Clankers were out of the engines and had cleaned up. This must be an important person. Deryn allowed herself a small smile at the sight of Alek, with the not-quite cleaned fingernails that still had oil under them. He was talking to Klopp, waving his hands animatedly. She sighed as she imagined his voice, only he was talking to her, telling her…certain things. She shook herself awake. _I'm not a lassie, I'm not a lassie_…

The captain was welcoming two people on board. One was a hefty man, extremely large, wearing an expensive suit, and the other was a boy about her age. The boy was sturdily built and had cropped golden hair and clear blue eyes that took the ship in with a precise air that Deryn immediately linked to intelligence. She had seen Dr. Barlow do the same thing when she first boarded. It was a trait that was common among the smart people. This new boy was obviously a clever boots. By the way that the captain was graciously welcoming them, it looked like they were important. Or just filthy rich. Maybe both. Probably both.

The boy's eyes scanned the crew, picking out different faces, just looking. But he stopped when he found Alek. He stared. The way he looked at Alek drove shivers up Deryn's spine. It was almost like he wanted the prince. Like he was hungry. It was the look of the hunter.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I still don't own Levi. (though it is in my plans.)

**Part**** Three: The Man You Think You Know**

After the new passengers were settled, Alek went with the rest of his crew to the engines. It was time to get this ship in the air. But he couldn't concentrate. Dylan- eh, Deryn- was a girl. The shock of it still hadn't faded. Alek doubted that it would ever go away. No, he couldn't concentrate now.

Klopp and the crew noticed how distracted their charge was, but didn't probe; Alek hadn't told anyone about their conversation, especially not Volger. The man had already been through this with Alek's father and certainly wouldn't approve. Anyways, this was his and Deryn's, not anybody else's.

He was fumbling the engine, he knew that. If he kept up like this, the ship would be in danger, so he handed the controls to Baurer and exited the room. He walked along the hall, finding his feet carrying him to his cabin without direction. He didn't have a problem with that, so he went back to his thoughts. The corridor jostled as the Clanker engines kicked in and they were up. With his head in the clouds, Alek ran straight into that young man with the blonde hair that came aboard today.

"Oh!" Alek gasped. "Sorry!"

"That's fine," said the boy. "Happens to the best of us."

Alek nodded, edging past this stranger who was blocking his room.

"My name is Isaac," the boy said.

Alek didn't really care what his name was. Putting on a fake smile, he said, "Nice to meet you, Isaac."

"And your name is…" Isaac wouldn't stop probing.

"Alek."

"Right, I read about you in the papers."

So Isaac could read. No ordinary person these days read the paper. Chances were that Isaac was some kind of aristocrat. If so, then that explained why the captain was so gracious.

"Well, I would love to talk," Alek continued to edge toward his door. "But I really got to go…" and with that he made for his door, leaving a frowning Isaac to curse under his breath.

Alek collapsed on his bed. Dyl-Deryn still occupied every corner of his mind. He wasn't really thinking of anything in particular, just everything about her; the glint in her eyes as she told her joke, the swaggering way she walked, way she wasn't scared of anything, things that he had always attributed to boys.

Alek didn't know if he should approach Deryn again. It would be decidedly awkward, but maybe worth it. Maybe he would get some answers, but maybe Deryn didn't _wanted_ him to know? What if he had crossed some invisible line by finding out and now she was mad at him

But he missed Deryn. He wanted to talk with _her_.

_No you don't, you dummkolf!__ She is _common_. Will you make your children go through what your parents forced on you? I think not. _But he had never seen it like this before. Now he was just confused; majorly, majorly, confused.

**2 Weeks Later**

Alek was going to talk to Deryn tonight; no matter what. He was not going to chicken out. He was not. But what should he talk about first? Their friendship? That night on the spine, the night everything changed? Each was potentially awkward…but then again, in this conversation, wouldn't everything be awkward?

The more Alek thought, the more nervous he got, until it threatened to overflow. Leaping off the bed, Alek burst out of the confines of his suddenly stuffy room. He was going to talk to Deryn now, with no more time to think. He thought too much. Alek was going to find Deryn _now_.

So where would she be? The best bet was the spine. They still had to patch up little leaks after the attack, so there was plenty of work to do. He scrambled to the skin of the beastie. It certainly _was_ busy. But it wasn't hard to find Deryn. The rest of the crew was giving her a wide berth, almost as if they were afraid that just working along side the liar would infect their reputations.

"Deryn!" Alek called. Glancing up, the girl visibly relaxed at the sight of Alek. She made her way toward him, and the crew parted through her as though she had the plague.

"Hey," she breathed.

Here was where Alek's tongue decided to stumble. "Well, I was-uh- wondering if we could um, talk?" He winced at the blunder.

She looked a little apprehensive about his stuttering. "Sure."

They went back to his cabin, sitting on the bed.

"So…" Deryn tried to ease the silence.

Alek cut to the chase. "Why didn't you tell me earlier? You had plenty of opportunities."

Deryn sighed. It was clear that she had been expecting this question. "Look, Alek," she started with a deep breath. "Actually I tried multiple times." When Alek looked shocked, she continued. "Really! But barking time someone stomped in. Either that or you said the wrong thing and you would've run a mile."

Alek was stunned. "Really?"

"Yes! The first time it was in the egg room, remember when I said that I wasn't the boy you thought I was? Yeah, but then the boffin up and decides to barge in! And when we were in your room in Istanbul, when you were getting that scroll or something, I was about to tell you, but then you started talking about how 'girls aren't meant for manly tasks' and that 'you couldn't even think about being with a commoner, because they are so far below your highness that you don't even care to look'!"

"So it's my fault now, is it?" Alek said, with the barest hint of tightly constrained accusation.

"Well if you weren't so dead against commoners!"

"That's what I grew up with! Did you expect me to abandon fifteen years of instruction that I was trained to think was right? With out any help whatsoever?"

Deryn was silent. Alek could tell that he had gotten to her. He had cracked that shell that lied so convincingly that even he, the best friend, wasn't spared from the sticky web. Her excuse was flimsy; not well thought out, not well delivered. Trying to blame him for her stupid emotions! Fah! Ridiculous.

"I'm needed," Deryn said tersely. She stalked out and slammed the door behind her.

She was mad at him, all because she was a barking _girl_. It hadn't been like this when she was a boy, so why had it all of a sudden changed as soon as the secret was out?

Lurching to a standing position, he stubbed his toe on the edge of the wall. He jumped around the room, cursing extravagantly, so he didn't hear the throbbing alarm sounding, calling for all arms to port. Grumbling under his breath, Alek climbed to the spine. He needed out of this stupid cramped room. He needed to clear his thoughts.

It was windy on the spine. The soft breeze felt good on his crawling skin though, and it sent goose bumps up his arms. Instead of answering the insistent piping of the alarm, he sat down on the edge of the membrane, staring out at the clear and endless sky, stained with blood-colored streaks of cloud as the sun died in the west. The red color reflected his mood very well. The water of the ocean underneath was inky black.

So it would never be anything with Deryn, because she had clearly rejected him. Even after all clues that she had sent him, the clues that he had apparently misinterpreted.

There was a soft thud of footsteps behind him. Isaac the Blonde sat next to him on the rough skin of the beastie.

"What's the matter?" inquired Isaac.

_This is not the time to bud into my business_, Alek thought. He didn't want to talk to this stranger. But Isaac continued on, unaware.

"Maybe you could talk to me, I don't know, sometime later in you cabin, so-"

But Alek wasn't listening anymore. He was just tuning Isaac out; this boy was annoying. So he didn't see it as Isaac reached inside his coat and pulled out a gun. The blonde boy continued to talk without thinking as he brought the metal butt of the pistol slamming against the back of Alek's head. The prince felt an excruciating explosion on his neck and then everything went black.

Isaac calmly bound Alek's hand to a taunt rope on the skin of the godless creature; he didn't want his prize to go rolling off the side. He looked over the unconscious body with a professional air. It was time; say bye-bye to the stubborn aristocrat in his way. From inside a cleverly hidden pocket in his posh jacket, he pulled a small syringe, filled to the brim with clear liquid. Onto part two of the plan.

Isaac hesitated, holding the needle over several parts of Alek. Where was that bloodstream junction again? Wasn't it in the wrist, or something? Well, who cared? The poison would get to every system, no matter what. Without further ado, Isaac plunged the syringe into Alek's neck, careful of the windpipe. The affects would start to show up in a few minutes, and by then the prince could be awake. It was time to scram. Isaac cast one last condescending smirk in the direction of his victim before descending into the godless beast to his cabin.

Pain. A dull, thudding throb from the back of his head, and a much sharper prick from his neck. Alek forced his heavy eyelids open. The world wouldn't shape itself properly, and major sections seemed blurry. His limbs seemed glued down to. Nothing would move. What happened? He was on the ground; that much was sure. Could he have slipped?

Alek lurched to his feet, none to graceful. His legs still wouldn't work right. He decided that he should probably lie down for awhile; his head was feeling decisively odd. He stumbled to the ladder leading into the beast.

Suddenly a dizzying wave crashed over him; the surface under his feet lurched, and the floor came rushing up to meet him. His head felt like a beast was clawing at it, trying to get in. He curled into a fetal position, trying to protect his head form this animal attacking. Alek could even see the monster; it was standing in front of him, making loud whistling sounds and shouting insistently. That was all his eyes registered as the monster swallowed him whole.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Levi.

**5**** minutes earlier**

Deryn's very bad day was getting worse. It turned out that even the untouchable Barlow was shocked with her secret. Apparently the great mind of Darwin was fooled as well by her masquerade. That fact gave Deryn more than a little satisfaction. But that didn't stop the boffin from giving her the most ridiculous and seemingly pointless tasks that came to mind. Thankfully a whistle sounded for help in the guts of the beastie. Her sweet song of escape.

The thing was, she had really thought Dr. Barlow would understand. You know, since she herself was a woman struggling to prove her worth. Well, maybe struggling wasn't the right word. The boffin was, after all, the descendent of Darwin himself, the founder of their very culture today. Maybe Dr. Barlow had always had her way cleared. Not Deryn though. No, Deryn had been driven to change her very gender to achieve her goal. Where was the fairness in that?

It seemed that Deryn was destined to be disappointed in her life in general. First, her da died, then, her mother tried to abolish his memory by smothering her with frilly dresses and awkward teas, how she got stranded above London (well, maybe that wasn't so bad), and finally, she fell for a barking prince and had her single most precious secret exposed to the world. Why couldn't anything ever go right for her? It was like her life was some kind of dramatic story. In that case, she desperately hoped that her particular book had a classic happy ending; the ones that left you with a warm feeling, knowing that the heroine had made a profound impact on the world, leaving it a far better place. Too bad things never worked out like that in real life.

_Well_, she thought to herself, _you get what you get, but I guess it's what you do with what you got that matters. And I'm going to kick some butt._

And now back to the whistle, which was still insistently squawking throughout the ship. Deryn jogged up to the top deck, right under the spine of the beastie. That would be the busiest place if the whistle blew. Therefore it would be the most likely place to actually get a job.

She absentmindedly strolled up the stairs. So she was completely and utterly shocked by the sight that lay before her eyes.

It was Alek. He was walking down the ladder like a marionette moving jerkily on its strings. Something was very, very, very wrong. For a few frozen and loaded moments, all she could do was stand and gawk. This dangerous spell was broken when marionette-Alek took a shuddering step forward, and had his strings unceremoniously snipped. He tumbled another few steps before pitching forward onto the floor. Deryn snapped awake, and whipped her whistle out and with as much gusto as her lungs permitted, squawked out the medical assistance sequence.

_REEEEEEETTTT REET REEEEEEETTTTTTTTT!_

Thoughts swirled in Deryn's head. What the barking spiders happened! What was wrong with Alek? _And the last words I said to him were harsh_… _Please don't die on me_, she thought. _Don't you dare. Not when I owe you something._

She desperately scanned the space for the oncoming medics, but there was nothing. Suddenly she remembered. There had already been a whistle blown; meaning that everyone was answering to that instead. They were alone.

Deryn turned to her new charge, checking for injuries. If no one was coming, then it was up to her to help Alek. It was her responsibility. The only abnormality she found however, was a developing bruise on the back of his neck. There was a tiny prick too, but that hardly seemed consequential.

Wait, what the heck was she doing? She was no doctor, how could she determine what was wrong? Alek needed attention, _now. _Attention that she couldn't give.

And so Deryn did the only thing she could think off. Careful of his neck, she hoisted him up on her shoulder. They were going to pay a visit to Dr. Barlow.

**Okay, so I'm new, and I would really like some feedback about my writing. I would really appreciate it if you guys left me some reviews. Anything at all really, criticism, suggestions (the plotline is pretty loose at this point), anything at all. I would like your support too!**- Arty.


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